Balen Shah

Mayor

Balendra Shah
बालेन्द्र शाह
15th Mayor of Kathmandu
Assumed office
30 May 2022
DeputySunita Dangol
Preceded byBidya Sundar Shakya
Personal details
Born (1990-04-27) 27 April 1990 (age 34)
Naradevi-18, Kathmandu, Nepal
Political partyIndependent
Height1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)
Spouse(s)
Sabina Kafle
​
(m. 2018)​
MotherDhruv Devi Shah
FatherRam Narayan Shah
Alma materVTU (M.Tech.)
Profession
  • Rapper
  • structural engineer
  • politician
Musical career
OriginSinamangal–9, Kathmandu, Nepal
Genres
Years active2012–present
Labels
Websitebalenformayor.com

Balendra Shah is a Nepalese rapper, musician, structural engineer, and politician better known as Balen Shah or just Balen. He is now the 15th mayor of Kathmandu, Nepal's main city. He also served as a judge on Image Channel's hip-hop reality show Nephopko Shreepech.[1]

Since the early 2010s, Shah has been a popular personality in Nepalese hip-hop. Shah ran as an independent in the 2022 local elections, beating Nepali Congress candidate Sirjana Singh and CPN (UML) candidate Keshav Sthapit.[2][3]

References

  1. ↑ "'वालेन जितेर एक पटक गाउँ आऊ'". Gorkhapatra (in Nepali). 2022-05-25. Archived from the original on 2022-05-26. Retrieved 2022-05-26.
  2. ↑ "'लौरो' बोकेर बालेन बने काठमाण्डू महानगर प्रमुख, को हुन् उनको विजयका सारथि". BBC News (in Nepali). 2022-05-26. Archived from the original on 2022-05-29. Retrieved 2022-05-26.
  3. ↑ "Nepali rapper Balendra Shah becomes new Mayor of Kathmandu". ThePrint. 27 May 2022. Archived from the original on 2022-05-28.